It’s been an interesting start to the year here on the Central Coast of California weather-wise. First it started with almost apocalyptic levels of rain which not only flooded rivers and towns in the area, but almost quadrupled the lake level of my favorite carp fishery and filled other local lakes overnight, some to around 110% of their normal capacity since they couldn’t release water fast enough through the dam. Following these biblical storm events, the temperatures dropped dramatically, with many frosted mornings and cold daytime temperatures. In the grand scheme of things, a freezing snap in the middle of January and February may not seem like an abnormal thing, but in an area where the temperatures are normally quite stable, and not that cold, these massive swings in temp have been interesting to watch…

Winter in the more northern territories of the US will mean for many that it’s time to put the rods away and essentially hibernate until you can feel the warmth of the sun again in early spring. For some hardy folks, this is not an option!

Due to the often painful fact that the temperatures rarely get above 32F around me here in central Illinois, there’s no open water to fish without drilling a hole through the ice but that just means that I have to travel a little to catch carp in open water. Ya just need that incessant urge to fish and plenty of warm clothing to get out and do the business… Luckily, I have plenty of both!

The single closest park lake to my house is a sizable 27 acre body of water. As it offers all the conveniences of a city park (easy parking, easy to navigate, bathrooms), it’s my go-to water for a quick and/or easy session. Friends who have lived and fished in this area longer than I have insist that multiple 30lb+ fish were caught here. I started to fish this lake seriously in 2021. There are definitely carp here, but I have never seen any carp show. No jumps, no splashes. This likely has something to do with the pedal boats on the lake during the warmer months.

Sitting around the house I was itching for something new. One day I was at a local fishing shop, and I had just gotten a raise/bonus or something at work and I came across this 3/4 weight Okuma fly rod in kind of a marbly green color. Growing up only fly fishing a couple times a year on the Henry’s Fork near Island Park, Idaho I thought “hey there is something different we could give a go.”

Stalking a small pond for mirror carp has been a great way to keep me busy fishing through the hot summer heat. Moving to shade when I want and staying mobile for shorter sessions instead of sitting on the bank waiting for a take on a bite alarm seemed to be the change of pace I needed.

For a good decade my snowboards stole the winters as I moved up to escape the growing city so I could ditch my "weekend warrior" title and snowboard daily. As we all know the mountains are now crazy and busy as can be, and the enjoyment slowly started to fade.

Then one day I just didn't feel that joy anymore, it finally sunk in that I'd rather be fishing. In the last six years I can count on one hand how many times I've picked those snowboards back up.

Hello my name is Cody Gales, I'm an avid carp angler out of New Hampshire and I’d like to share my experiences from a session that produced my first 40lb common.

It was mid September when I finally made the decision on where I was going to start my fall baiting campaign. It was a stretch of river I’d been interested in for most of the previous year and this was a great time of year to bait and fish it…

As a kid growing up in Holland in the 80’s, fishing was part of my life from the moment I could hold a pole. Roach, bream, perch. I got into carp fishing at age 12 when seeing my cousin (who is 14 years older than me) fishing at a local canal. Carp angling became my entire life that day, until music took over…

I broke the kit down, carried it up the hill and loaded it into the Jeep. Grabbed a quick coffee before I took a drive out to Lowell and hooked up with long time Massachusetts carping friend, Scott Osmond for lunch at one of his local restaurants. Wonderful conversation and time spent catching up (it’d been a few years since we were last in each other’s company). Talked much about the “big fish mentality” and what it takes to consistently find the big ones as Scott regularly does… Why the pursuit of big fish are all important for some anglers and not so, if at all for others.

When I go to sleep, my thoughts tend to go to a specific image; of shallow water, an active tail, a mud plume, and that feeling of simultaneous intense adrenaline and total peace right before I present the fly.

At a moment like that, there’s nothing in the world that seems to exist except you and the fish.

When I wake up from dreams about tailing carp in the shallows, I pack my bags, head into the car, and drive to one of my favorite lakes to chase these golden ghosts.

I would tell myself, "Just stop thinking, Glenn, you have a big day tomorrow; just close your eyes and get to bed." It was like the night before Christmas before every offshore fishing trip. But, like most anglers desperately searching for that trophy fish or the adrenalin that comes with it, I would always struggle to sleep the night before due to my excitement level. Whether landing a giant bluefin tuna or losing one 10' below, I enjoyed all of the thrills, good or bad, and couldn't get enough of it. I was part of a group of anglers that targeted large tuna and other pelagics on light tackle for many years. Fast forward 15 years, and those feelings are still there, but instead of me being the leading angler, I am now the mentor to my youngest son Tyler, and instead of chasing tuna, we are chasing carp.

Like most Carp anglers born and raised in North America, my first memory of where my carping addiction began did not revolve around a set of 12’ rods on a stainless steel pod rigged with boilies on a hair rig.

There were no alarms or even a bell clamped to the end of the rod and I had no idea what a weigh sling or unhooking mat even were back then. It was as basic as you could possibly imagine, kinda like business casual at the office for the most part. The internet was just becoming a luxury that was soon to be a necessity in today’s world…

The afternoon passed quickly and as we were sharing some more jokes and stories, a massive wind gust hit the Brolly, bent it backwards and snapped all of the supporting arms totally exposing us to the elements.

Of course, the heavy rain had just started and it soaked us to the bone in no time as we ran for cover to his jeep. A few minutes later Morgan showed up to pick me up at the time she said. I couldn’t believe how quickly the time had passed and I wasn’t ready... When my buddy with the jeep left, I went back to my rods to retrieve the rest of my gear.

In the earlier brolly busting storm panic, I’d left one of my two rods out and when I went to reel it in, I noticed the spool was a bit lower than when I had cast earlier. I began to reel in the line thinking I had missed my one opportunity. The line was curled in a large C shape around the edge of the pond and as my line tightened out, to my complete surprise, there was still a fish connected!

…..That evening, there was an incredible fireworks display a mile or so up the lake from us. It was really like something you might see on TV, in a major City -- it was spectacular, and went on for a long long time. Excitement over -- things were rather quiet in our swim -- maybe the fish weren't quite as appreciative as us - hehe! And it remained quiet into the night -- until I was forced to exit my warm bivvy to deal with a catfish on one of my rods - and I found out why it was quiet --- Austin had pulled in all but one rod!!

When I was a kid I use to walk through town passing over some bridges to get to school in the morning. During the Spring as I walked over one of the bridges, I would notice dark shadows lurking just under the surface of the water below my feet. I eventually learned to carry bread in a ziplock bag each Spring morning to feed these shadows. It was amazing to watch these shadows snatch my bread off the surface before disappearing down into the depths, then to suddenly appear again for more of my bread.

Curiosity took over and before I knew it I found myself hitting the library…..

Saturday June 22nd - The Massachusetts’ American Carp Society social.

OK, as fantastic as this whole trip had been, this was the event I was really looking forward too!

The Massachusetts’ American Carp Society social was held on the Charles River in Needham with several of our members showing up, it was a fantastic event!

Thanks beyond words to both Tim and Martin Columbo for all their hard graft and phone work in putting this together for us all… It was magic guys…. Thank you!!

Finally loaded, this trip is actually happening!

I'd been in a mad scramble for the last 2 weeks attempting to get one last work project done so I could leave. The weather had not cooperated at all… I’m a concrete guy so I really don't care for rain, it balls everything up and we’d had plenty of it all month! I'd even told Melissa, my wife to tell her boss that our planned road trip wasn't gonna happen but somehow, my anti-rain dances had done their job and everything had eventually worked out, albeit a few days later than planned.

So… Leaving 4 days later than I wished presented challenges in finding a decent location to fish because it was Memorial Day weekend and that meant, that Blackfoot was likely to be extra busy with all the locals vacationing and partying there too…

So, Why would anyone want to carp fish from a boat?

It presents a number of challenges, and of course our preferred way will always be to locate and fish from the bank.

I fish from a boat because very few good carp waters locally in NC have decent provision for bank fishing. Access that does exists is often in the wrong place, after years of being hard fished, the carp may even avoid these areas. Night fishing is often not allowed on the bank either, it’s considered “camping” by the agencies in charge...

Fishing for Carp & Buffalo is kind of like surprise feeding your hungry girlfriend… it doesn’t always work out but when it does, you will reap the rewards.

It’s a common reaction to be asked, “why would an angler fish for carp”? I think at one point in time, most have pondered that very same question. I would say it’s a pretty safe bet that most carp anglers’ response on their first take was, why haven’t I done this sooner. Carp fly fishing brings a whole new gallery, or genre, to the meaning of, “the art of fly fishing”. Here, my goal is to give the interested carp angler a foundation of how to fly fish for them and a deeper appreciation for the fish.

I’ve quickly learned over the last few months that fishing for carp in the middle of winter is not for the faint of heart. Things I’ve took for granted during the warmer months, like watercraft, proved quite difficult. As more and more swims locked up with ice, scouting missions to hunt for open water had to be incorporated into my normal commutes….